Envelope-to: sbreitsameter@xxxxxxxx
X-Sender: ninplant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Unverified)
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 16:37:12 +0200
To: jhhl@xxxxxxxxx
From: ninplant@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: To the labels/musicians who support independent radio - urgent!!
Cc:

Dear soundmakers, promoters, spinners and DJs,
As frequent contributors to WTM I urge you to just take a few minutes to draft a short letter in behalf of independent radio in Amsterdam including Radio 100 [abstract, adventurous], Radio Patapoe [autonomous, unruly, anything goes], Radio Vrije Keyser [indie news and info]. Read below and pelase pass on this letter if you find it compelling enough. 

Wreck This Mess
Radio 100 / Radio Patapoe
bart plantenga
Zeilstraat 23 / II
1075 SB Amsterdam
the Netherlands

FREE RADIO UNDER COMMERCIAL CLOUDS, HEAVY PRIVATIZATION PRECIPITATION EXPECTED

EARLY August:
I am writing under the name Wreck This Mess to call on all Free Radio makers at stations like CFMU, CJAM, CJSW, KASU, KEOS, KNTU, KPFA, KTRU, KUNM, KXCI, WEFT, WFMU, WHUS, WOMR, WORT, WTJU, WVKR, EPSILONIA Radio Libertaire FRANCE, "La Rebelion de los Antioxidantes" Radio Barcelona, SPAIN, Razvan Radu's 'Underground Show' on RADIO SKY CONSTANTA, Radio Libertaire, micro radio, internet radio and all musicians, producers, yodelers!!, samplers, CIRCUS PERFORMERS, post-modern sonic thieves, indie label owners, venues, and poets and writers, and avid supporters of indie culture/music who have ever found airplay or pleasure here at WTM or Radio 100 or Radio Patapoe or extended interviews or write ups on my WTM playlist to write a letter addressing the constricting of the air waves by the selling off of the frequencies to the highest bidders. Or all those who have received homemade tapes of old shows... how about the time I bought you drinks... time is tight but minds are not. so invest a few micro-managed minutes to write a letter.
Thus far 40+ WTM allies have written very articulate letters. This is a very nice bundle but remains a VERY small percentage of the total number of people, organizations, bands, axe-wielders, grammy award winners on my mailing list. MY IDEA OF A THANK YOU IS TO DO A SHOW THAT FEATURES THE MUSIC OF THE CONTRIBUTORS, EITHER WHAT THEY LIKE, PLAY, PRODUCE, PROMOTE OR CRITICIZE...
support the Dutch Free Radio Stations in their protest against Dutch National Radio Frequency Policy which currently threatens the very existence of Free Radio in the Netherlands. THE situation looks rosier than before but still VERY vague and unstable. We have quite some support in the Dutch Congress but we would like to have something on the order of a legitimate place, a legalized squat in the ether if you will and this will make your letters all the more interesting as Amsterdam and its politicians and tastemakers struggle to define what makes it an international city...
If you appreciate stations like Radio 100, Radio Patapoe, Radio Vrije Keyser and a half dozen other free radio stations around the Netherlands and/or cannot live without my programming, my dedication to new/unusual music, free radio [17 years now], the hypothetical exposure my playlists give under-regarded music/musicians then I implore you to write a letter and send it to 

radiofestatie@xxxxxxxx

with a cc: ninplant@xxxxxxxxx
I recommend you give a very short introduction of who you are [musician, band, DJ, fan, listener, important person in the world of culture in/outside the Netherlands] to help paint an accurate picture of the international extent of free radio and its dedication ot adventurous radio for its own sake and the sake of those creating interesting sounds / texts.
I also recommend to add where you are writing from, that you are coming via Wreck This Mess [optional of course] and then WHY. Keep it short but don't skimp on emotion or indignation. Read on for more details.
The Dutch government's recently implemented Zerobase Radio Frequency Policy is designed to control and regulate free use of the ether by commercial radio stations. On May 23 this year most available space on the Dutch airwaves was auctioned off to the highest bidder. It should come as no surprise to anyone that as a result of this auction it has become clear that for the next eight years only the biggest, most commercially and mainstream oriented stations will be able to exploit the remaining Dutch frequencies.
The government's claim to preserve diversity in the new airwave distribution has proven to be a fraud. The ZeroBase Policy acknowledges only two kinds of radio: public and commercial. Any radio formats that don't fit within either of these categories have in effect become criminal organisations. Zerobase's nasty little brother "Project Etherflits", an initiative of the Department of Economic Affairs, has since March of this year been pro-actively identifying and tracking "illegal" broadcasters throughout the North and East of the country, confiscating studio equipment and imposing large fines. Many stations have already been forced off the air.
Although Free Radio culture in the Netherlands has a long history [the 3 stations have all been around for nearly 20 years with relatively-speaking few problems until now] and remains innovative, popular and highly valued as an important cultural and political resource, Free Radio is neither public or commercial. Thus, under the Zerobase legislation these stations will never be granted a legal broadcasting permit. Nowhere in Europe have legislators been so blind to active, independent radio-making culture. This needs to be changed. During its twenty-five years of existence Dutch Free Radio has been a beacon of Dutch and international fringe cultures, alternative political action and social change.
WE URGENTLY DEMAND THAT THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT ACKNOWLEDGES NON-COMMERCIAL, NON-PUBLIC FREE RADIO AS A SEPARATE LEGAL RADIO CATEGORY WITHIN THE NATIONAL FREQUENCY POLICY. THAT IS TO SAY THAT LOW-COST, FREE-ACCESS DOMAINS IN THE ETHER MUST BE CREATED.
Retain your own human dignity now. Write to radiofestatie@xxxxxxxx [cc: ninplant@xxxxxxxxx]
The letters will be posted <http://www.vrijeradio.nl> and other places but we also plan a print version to send as a booklet to concerned parties in the media and government. 

your tireless and humble sonic slave,

bart / wreck this mess [amsterdam]



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